Dissertation Research: Comparative Morphology & Cladistic Biogeography of Verres (Coleoptera: Passalidae; Proculini)

9520759利勃海尔该奖项将为康奈尔大学一名学生的博士论文研究提供支持。该项目涉及甲虫属各物种之间的系统发育分析(昆虫纲：鞘翅目：雀科：普鲁克)及其与其他密切相关属的亲缘关系。将使用成虫和幼虫形态的特征，并将利用产生的关系树来测试关于墨西哥和中美洲陆地地区地质关系的历史生物地理假说。获得的资金将用于学生参观和研究欧洲主要博物馆的模式标本的旅行，前往墨西哥和危地马拉进行收集和实地研究的旅行(学生正在独立申请康奈尔大学的旅行资助，以便能够在巴拿马和哥斯达黎加进行实地工作)，以及扫描电子显微镜对这些甲虫的超微结构特征的检查。金龟科是热带森林生态系统中极其重要的组成部分。这些甲虫在枯木中挖掘画廊，在那里它们以社交方式孵化它们的幼崽。它们的生物学在许多方面与白蚁相似；它们都是生活在群体中的主要分解者，与真菌、线虫和其他正在分解的“无脊椎动物”有许多联系。清楚地了解这些甲虫之间的关系将有助于测试关于社会起源、行为起源、与其他生物的互惠关系、生物地理学等有趣的假说。在对下一代昆虫系统专家的培训，特别是对昆虫和其他无脊椎动物群体的培训正在达到危机的时候，这个奖项将有助于培训一名年轻的昆虫系统学家。这个学生的研究将有助于我们了解热带森林生态系统中一组重要的分解生物的生物多样性。***

9520759 LIEBHERR This award will contribute support to the doctoral dissertation research of a student at Cornell University. That project involves the phylogenetic analysis of relationships among species in the beetle genus Verres (Insecta: Coleoptera: Passalidae: Proculini) and its affinities to other closely related genera. Characters from both adult and larval morphology will be employed and the resulting "tree" of relationships will be utilized to test historical biogeographic hypotheses about geological relationships of land areas in Mexico and Central America. Funds awarded will support travel for the student to visit and study type specimens at major European museums, travel to conduct collecting and field studies in Mexico and Guatemala (the student is independently applying for travel support from Cornell University to enable field work in Panama and Costa Rica), and scanning electron microscopic examination of ultrastructural features of these beetles. Members of the beetle family Passalidae are extremely important components of tropical forest ecosystems. These beetles excavate galleries in dead wood where they brood their young socially. Their biology parallels that of termites in many respects; both are major decomposers living in colonies that have many associations with fungi, nematodes and other decomposing "invertebrates." A clear understanding of relationships among these beetles will allow testing of interesting hypotheses about origins of social, behavior, mutualistic associations with other organisms, biogeography, etc.. %%% This award will contribute to the training of a young insect systematist at a time when training of a future generation of systematic expertise, especially for insects and other invertebrate groups, is reaching crisis proportions. The studies of this student will contribute to our knowledge of the biodiversity of an important group of decomposer organisms in tropical forest ecosystems. ***